Barack Obama spoke of it many times on the campaign trail, but there never was any such thing as post-partisanship. I doubt it was ever intended. Instead, what has been fostered is the illusion of post-partisanship, a political sleight of hand. Only 50+ days into the Obama presidency, the examples are numerous.

- Obama made a show of sitting down with Republicans to talk about the stimulus plan. The illusion of post-partisanship. Then Obama and the Democrats write the entire bill that THEY wanted, with no GOP input. The bill rewards almost every key Democratic constituency. Obama then pretends the tax cut portion of the bill was somehow a nod to Republicans, even though Obama campaigned on those tax cuts for at least a year on the campaign trail. Obama says the stimulus bill is SO important that it must be passed immediately, so Congress passes it without anyone in Congress reading it. Then Obama goes on vacation for three days before signing it.

- Obama nominates Republican Judd Gregg as his Secretary of Commerce. The illusion of post-partisanship. Then Obama immediately transfers authority over the Census to the White House instead of Commerce, where the authority had traditionally resided. Judd resigns the post.

- Obama talks about the failed partisan politics of the past every day on the campaign trail for 20 months. The illusion of post-partisanship. Then, six weeks into his presidency, the White House organizes a partisan hit campaign against radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Similar attacks were launched against CNBC's Rick Santelli and Jim Cramer.

- During last summer's presidential campaign, when gas was over $4 per gallon and Republican's were gaining in the polls by calling for more domestic gas and oil exploration, Obama says domestic gas exploration is definitely something to be considered. The illusion of post-partisanship. Then the moment Obama arrives in the Oval Office, he bans offshore oil drilling, bans domestic oil and gas drilling in Utah, and Congress introduces a bill to permanently ban drilling in ANWR.

- During the presidential campaign, Obama said he supports the 2nd Amendment, the right to bear arms. The illusion of post-partisanship. Yet, Obama's entire voting record in the Illinois Senate consisted of voting AGAINST gun ownership. Then after Obama becomes president, he nominates an Attorney General, Eric Holder, who DOESN'T believe in the 2nd Amendment, and Obama seeks to reinstate the "assault" weapons ban.

- Obama speaks repeatedly of the greatness of capitalism, free markets, and the private sector. The illusion of post-partisanship. Then once in office, the Manchurian Candidate Obama passes reams of anti-business policies in his first 50 days in office (with many more to come). I'm almost starting to think it's Obama's goal to destroy the American economy. As Rahm Emanuel said, "you can't let a crisis go to waste."

I could go on and on with these examples, but hopefully you get the point. It's not that I object to liberals being liberals, or Democrats being Democrats. I fully expect that. What I object to is a politician who portrays himself one way while acting in a completely different way. In my opinion, that type of political subterfuge is Obama's special talent. He even pretends he is removing politics from governmental decision-making as he puts politics front and center in governmental decision-making. Listen to Obama as he talks about the reversal of Bush's stem cell research policy:

In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values...The majority of Americans -- from across the political spectrum, and from all backgrounds and beliefs -- have come to a consensus that we should pursue this research; that the potential it offers is great, and with proper guidelines and strict oversight, the perils can be avoided...It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda -- and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology...I'm also signing a Presidential Memorandum directing the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy for restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making.

This is highly partisan, and the mainstream media helpfully reported this story as "Obama Ends Stem Cell Research Ban," yet Obama never once mentioned the fact that BUSH DIDN'T BAN STEM CELL RESEARCH. No, he didn't. Bush only limited the use of federal funds to existing embryonic stem cell lines, and Bush also funded adult stem cell research. There was no ban, and private stem cell research could always continue. None of that was to be heard in Obama's rhetoric. There is an example of how Obama REMOVES politics from decision-making. Right. Whatever you say, Barry.